Yellow Dog Records carries the living lore of authentic American music into the present. Featuring new interpretations of Blues, Jazz, Soul, and Americana styles by established and emerging artists, Yellow Dog Records is where innovation confronts tradition. What's left after the collision? Inspired explorations of America's musical roots.

Congratulations to Mary Flower for earning two nominations in this year’s Blues Music Awards! Mary’s new album Misery Loves Company is nominated for Acoustic Album of the Year and she has also been nominated as a performer for Acoustic Artist of the Year.

It seems to be the season of nominations for Mary. She is also up for “Best Female Artist” at the Portland Music Awards, scheduled to announce winners on January 22. This comes on the heels of Mary’s recent Muddy Award for “Acoustic Guitar” by the Cascade Blues Association.

Congratulations also go out to Eden Brent for her 4th Blues Music Award nomination for the Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year, as well as Jimi Bott (of Woodbrain) for his 13th (!) nomination as Blues Drummer of the Year and to The Bo-Keys for their nomination as Blues Band of the Year.

The Blues Music Awards (formerly known as the W.C. Handy Awards) are universally recognized as the highest honor given to Blues artists. And best of all, you can vote in the awards process! Visit The Blues Foundation to join, and then this link to vote once you are a member. Voting is open now through March 1.

The Blues Foundation will present the 33rd Blues Music Awards on May 10 at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, TN. Stay tuned!

Congratulations to Eden Brent for earning top honors in this year’s Blues Music Awards! Eden’s new album Ain’t Got No Troubles is nominated for Album of the Year (alongside releases from Buddy Guy and Charlie Musselwhite) and Eden also earned artist recognition in “Koko Taylor (Traditional Blues Female)” and “Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year” categories (the latter, for the third year in a row).

“I grew up listening to Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, and Charlie Musselwhite at the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival in Greenville,” Eden said of the announcement, “and I’m humbled to now be mentioned among them. What a dream come true!”

The nominations cap a stellar year for Brent. Amazon ranked Ain’t Got No Troubles its #4 Blues album of 2010 (Buddy Guy and Mavis Staples took the top spots; Eric Clapton was #6). The album debuted at #1 on the iTunes Blues chart. It received glowing reviews, too: USA Today praised Brent’s “raw vocal sound” while NPR Song of the Day called her “irresistibly fresh.”

Brent also received an artist fellowship from the Mississippi Arts Commission; was a featured guest on several nationally syndicated radio programs, including NPR Weekend Edition, American Routes, House of Blues Radio Hour and Beale Street Caravan; and dazzled audiences in major cities across the US with live renditions of songs from Ain’t Got No Troubles.

Congratulations also to Jimi Bott of Woodbrain, who is nominated again for Best Instrumentalist – Drums.

The Blues Music Awards (formerly known as the W.C. Handy Awards) are universally recognized as the highest honor given to Blues artists. And best of all, you can vote in the awards process! Visit The Blues Foundation to join, and then this link to vote once you are a member. Voting is open now through March 1.

With a guitar/harmonica/bass/drums line-up, Woodbrain might be mistaken for a typical blues collective — at least until this fiery Portland, Oregon foursome begins to play, when it quickly becomes apparent they are potentially an evolutionary force in the genre. Or several genres at once.

Woodbrain’s energy is incendiary; their music deeply rooted in tradition. And yet their songwriting and improvisation pull those roots in all kinds of directions informed by the generations of Son House, Jimi Hendrix, and John Coltrane. Without sacrificing an iota of heart or soul, their sound effortlessly skirts boundaries to reach blues, rock, Americana, and jam scene listeners alike.